A federal judge has blocked new DACA applications, sparking widespread outcry from immigrants and activists.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ruled in favor of nine conservative states that filed lawsuits to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In the ruling, the judge wrote that the states proved “the hardship that the continued operation of DACA has inflicted on them.” Hanen declaring the program illegal means that existing program recipients will continue to receive the protections, but the government will not approve new applications.
The Obama-era program preventing the deportation of young immigrants brought to the country as children have faced a slew of setbacks since being established in June 2012. In September 2017, the Trump administration decided to end the program before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they didn’t conclude it correctly in 2020. Currently, about 650,000 people are protected under DACA.
Following the ruling, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that Democrats would continue to support DACA and asked Republicans to do the same “ to ensure that Dreamers have a permanent path to citizenship.”
Biden previously outlined legislation that would provide nearly 11 million unauthorized U.S. citizens with permanent citizenship.
Plaintiffs are planning to appeal Hanen’s decision.
